The Florida Gators made its tenth appearance in the College World Series last year on the back of their starting rotation. The Gators leaned on Logan Shore and A.J. Puk, both of whom were selected by the Oakland Athletics in the first two rounds of the 2016 MLB Draft.
Kevin O’Sullivan is tasked with replacing those two. That’s 46 career wins, more than 207 innings pitched and 499 strikeouts. Shore was as steady as any pitcher O’Sullivan has ever had. He won more consecutive decisions (16) in a row than any other pitcher at the University of Florida. Puk’s career went up and down but he and Shore were as formidable a duo as any in the country.
The third musketeer from the 2016 starting rotation returns this year and he’s a projected first rounder in his own right. Alex Faedo led the SEC with 13 wins in 2016 and led the Gators with 133 strikeouts. He’s seasoned but he’s tasked with replacing Shore, who was historically better than any other Friday night starter the Gators have had, on Friday night. Faedo is used to high pressure situations. Pitching on Sunday meant, often times, that a series win or loss was on the line when he took the mound.
“I would like to think it would be a seamless transition from Sunday to Friday and those Sunday games are so important because most of the time it’s 1-1 and that Sunday game will decide who wins the series,” O’Sullivan said of Faedo. “He’s pitched in Omaha a couple times in a row. He’s had success. He’s pitched on the USA team and had success there and beat Cuba. I think he’s comfortable and learned from all those experiences and is ready for the Friday role.”
Faedo is trying to keep a level head about the switch as well. He’s not going to change his approach and he shouldn’t. That approach has led to a 19-4 career record with 192 strikeouts to just 37 walks.
“We’re just pitching on a different day. It’s the same game,” Faedo said. “Hopefully I do what Logan did and pitch really well and start every weekend series on the right note.”
Faedo is a known commodity, the rest of the weekend rotation — although extremely talented, is somewhat unproven.
Sophomores Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar are both potentially first round picks in two years. They live together in a dorm on campus, are close friends and both are filling in a rotation that had been largely set in stone for the better part of two years.
Singer made 23 appearances as a freshman with just one start. He was named the number one prospect in the prestigious Cape Cod League over the summer. He’ll likely take the ball on Saturday after Faedo.
Kowar appeared in 12 games as a freshman, including six starts, before he was sidelined with a non-baseball related injury. He’ll be the stopper on Sunday, replacing Faedo at the back end of the weekend rotation. Both sophomores easily throw in the mid-to-high 90s and have devastating secondary stuff. Kowar exhibited touch and control with a changeup, a pitch many major league pitchers still don’t have mastery over, and Singer has a wipeout slider. Singer spent the offseason trying to add a changeup to his arsenal and Kowar a slider to his. Being roommates probably helped that development.
“Yeah, they should be really good,” Faedo said of Singer and Kowar moving into the weekend rotation. “I mean, they’ve got the best stuff around and they just need to get a little bit more exposure out there and keep getting their confidence a little bit better, having more experience, but they should be great this year.”
The Gators have question marks in the bullpen. they’ll need to find a closer, which is the same predicament the 2016 team was in this time last year, but they have, potentially, one of the best weekend rotations in the country. Speaking with Gator Country shortly after the end of the 2016 season, O’Sullivan noted that “nobody is going to feel sorry for us trotting (Faedo, Singer and Kowar) out on the mound every weekend..”
They won’t ad the trio will begin to try and take over and best the numbers that the previous weekend rotation set the last two years . They have the potential to be even better than a record setting group.
Yeah, Coach, nobody is going to feel sorry for you about your starting pitching situation.